Makin' our way downtown...

Street Bean Coffee Roasters announced last week [in somewhat secret] that we are opening a new location downtown. This is vital to our program if we want to continue serving street-involved young adults, and become more financially sustainable.

Downtown Seattle coffee shops see more traffic than other neighborhoods, on average. We expect this location to be much faster-paced than our Belltown location.

How does this help at-risk young adults?

This is the leading question behind every decision we make. We serve delicious house-roasted coffee because it allows us to teach our apprentices on an entirely different level. We use the equipment we use because it's some of the best in the industry without breaking the bank, allowing us to work with high-caliber equipment while putting more back into the program in other areas.

A third, busier location will allow us to give apprentices the experience of working in a fast-paced environment. This is vital to working in customer service, fulfillment, and many other industries. The ability to work on a team that pushes out 30 drinks in 15 minutes is a highly marketable skill, and builds confidence and muscle memory.

Beyond that, a third location will give us the capacity to affect more apprentices every year.